I've never thought too hard about science fiction and fantasy poetry. I knew it existed. I knew that Robert J. Sawyer's wife Carolyn Clink was one of the form's noted practitioners. But like many fantasy readers, I've been guilty of skipping the poems or the songs that inevitably find their way into fantasy epics.

So why am I talking about it now?

In October 2010, I attended the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio. At one of the many parties, this one hosted by Canadian publisher ChiZine, a poetry reading broke out amidst the launch of Paul Tremblay's In the Mean Time and Robert Boyczuk's Nexus: Ascension.

Sandra Kasturi, ChiZine co-publisher declared we would listen to a poem because "she'd bought the beer". She read a poem from her first collection The Animal Bridegroom called "Frankenstein's Monster's Wife's Therapist."

Amazing.

Now, lo and behold, one of Canada's two major SF&F awards, the Prix Auroras, have added a poetry category. Both Clink and Kasturi published numerous poems in 2010, also notable is Helen Marshall's "Waiting for the Harrowing". Even the "Dean of Canadian Science Fiction", Robert J. Sawyer has an eligible work; his prose poem, "The Transformed Man".

No longer a category I'll be ignoring.

A list of 2010 publications

Nominate for the Auroras

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Yarn$18.99 add to cart

The finalists for both the 2010 Philip K. Dick Award and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA)Awards have recently been released.

2010 Philip K.Dick Award

• Yarn by Jon Armstrong
• Chill by Elizabeth Bear
• The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
• Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy
• The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder
• Harmony by Project Itoh, translated by Alexander O. Smith
• State of Decay by James Knapp

2010 British Science Fiction Association Finalists in the novel category:

• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
• The Restoration Game by Ken Macleod
• The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
• Lightborn by Tricia Sullivan

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Bloodshot$17.00 add to cart

Cherie Priest is the author of nine novels, including the Hugo and Nebula nominated Boneshaker. Bloodshot, her first Urban Fantasy, releases Tuesday, January 25th.Cherie was kind enough to answer a few questions about her latest novel.

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The 2011 Prix Aurora Awards have opened to nominations in all categories. If you're a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, you can have a say in who will take home a Prix Aurora trophy.

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